Lady Cardinals Begin Their Championship Quest

FARMINGTON QUALIFIES FOR STATE, ADVANCES IN DISTRICT

FARMINGTON — The opening game of the 5A West Conference basketball tournament hosted by Farmington at Cardinal Arena had all appearances of a shootout early before Farmington ran Greenbrier into submission.

The Lady Cardinals won big, 76-42, to earn a berth in Thursday’s semifinal against Vilonia. That game starts at 4 p.m. on Farmington’s home court, Cardinal Arena.

Greenbrier made a trio of early 3-pointers and moved in front, 11-7, only to have Farmington fashion a 19-2 run over the last 4:06 of the first quarter. That signaled the beginning of the end of Greenbrier’s season.

The Lady Cardinals assumed a 26-13 lead after one quarter and put the game away in the third. They were leading 72-35 at the end of the third quarter.

Greenbrier coach Tobin McCammon liked the hot shooting start, yet acknowledged Farmington eventually overwhelmed the Lady Panthers with quick transition baskets.

“We got off to a good start, but if you’re going to trade threes with Farmington that’s not a good idea,” McCammon said. “Obviously we can’t sustain the level of transition Farmington plays. They brought players off the bench in waves and didn’t slow down.”

Makenna Vanzant had half of Farmington’s eight 3-pointers. She led the Lady Cardinals with 24 points. Alexis Roach added 12.

“They (Greenbrier) had seven 3-pointers at the half. It didn’t rattle our kids,” said Farmington coach Brad Johnson. “We felt eventually the pace would get them. We ran when it was there. When it wasn’t there we got good shots. We ran our set game. Our screens were good. Our shots were good.”

A trio of Farmington players scored their first points ever in a varsity game including Brad Johnson’s daughter, freshman Trinity Johnson, who converted a 3-point play to polish off a fast-break.

“That was a special moment for her,” Brad Johnson said. “She was able to get down the floor and convert an ‘And One.’”

Trinity Johnson also handed out an assist to sophomore teammate, Tamia Harper, recently returning to action from an ACL injury for a layup in transition. Tori Kersey also got a bucket with 23 seconds to go.

Hannah Donham and Naylor led Greenbrier with 12 points apiece.

FARMINGTON 76, GREENBRIER 42

Greenbrier 13 16 6 7 — 42 Farmington 26 24 22 4 — 76 Greenbrier (3-24): Arden Naylor 4 0-0 12, Hannah Donham 5 0-1 12, Breleigh Simmons 2 0-0 5, Blysse Harmon 2 0-2 4, Haleigh Moss 2 2-2 4, Tess Gordon 1 0-0 3, Kayla Gilpin 1 0-0 2. 16 2-5 42. Farmington (24-5): Makenna Vanzant 7 6-7 24, Alexis Roach 6 0-0 12, Madisyn Pense 4 0-0 9, Audrey Culpepper 3 1-1 8, Camryn Journagan 2 2-2 7, Eliza Ball 2 0-0 5, Joelle Tidwell 1 2-2 4, Trinity Johnson 1 1-1 3, Tamia Harper 1 0-0 2, Tori Kersey 1 0-2 2. Totals 28 12-13 76.

3-Point Goals — Greenbrier 8 (Naylor 4, Donham 2, Simmons, Gordon). Farmington 8 (Vanzant 4, Ball, Pense, Journagan, Culpepper).